About Locks

Locking and unlocking objects makes concurrent engineering possible. When you lock an object, this lock prevents other users from modifying it.

Depending on the app and the object type, you can lock either the object (the reference), the usage of this object in the structure (the instance), or both.

This page discusses:

Operations Impacted by Locks

When you lock an object, other users cannot:

  • Edit its properties or geometry.
  • Move it to another collaborative space or organization, or change its owner.
  • Change its maturity state.
  • Cut or delete it.
  • Remove child objects (including specifications and documents).
  • Replace or specify a configuration context.

However, they can:

  • Revise it.
  • Duplicate it.
  • Copy/paste it
  • Add child objects.

Important: When you only lock the usage of the object, only the relationship between this usage and its parent object is locked. Other users cannot modify this relationship, that is cut/paste this usage or delete it. However, they can change the maturity state of the object, its owner, or move it to another collaborative space or organization. They can also specify its configuration context.

Lock Status

In grid view, you can view the lock status in the Lock column:

Icon Description
The object is locked by me.
The object is locked by another user.
The object is not locked.

These icons indicate the lock status of the reference (the object itself). The lock status is not displayed for instances (usage of the object in the structure).

Note: The user who locked the object is displayed in the Properties tab of the Information panel or Properties widget. For more information, see Viewing and Modifying the Properties of an Object.